This year’s skiing trips have inspired some ideas of missing products and services.

Map Holder:It’s a royal pain digging out a massive map from your pocket with your jumbo gloves on. How about a transparent pocket that attaches to your arm with some elastic bands? Not so attractive, but a lot handier. There should be enough space if the map is pre-folded to show just the particular domain you’re on. Alternatively, a special micro-map could be produced and the map holder feature a built-in magnifying glass that could be rolled over the map.

Cheap Action Camera:I saw quite a number of snowboarders sporting a GoPro digital camera mounted atop their helmets. Given the decent quality and obvious low-price of cameras built into phones, surely there’s scope to make a much cheaper lo-res compact camera that could be strapped onto the wearer’s goggles. Something like this one.

Wireless Headphones:Listening to a banging tune whilst speeding down a piste is an almost euphoric experience. But it’s not ideal to have a cable running from your pocket to your head and having to dig deep to reach the controls. Better would be some wireless headphones that an iPod Shuffle/Nano could plug into on one side, with big button controls (glove-friendly) on the other. The best I could find is the Elecom iPod Shuffle wireless headphones.

On-slope Massages:The desire for a quick shoulder massage is pretty strong by the end of a gruelling day. I’ve spotted a number of massage parlours in resort, but never on the slope. Would be rather conditional on good weather.

On-slope Photography:DIY movies and photography on piste is becoming pretty popular, but a point-and-click camera has its limits and taking a £500 DSLR camera on piste isn’t so wise. So, how about setting up shop in a prime action-shot position (steep slope, snow park etc) and then taking photos of random people as they come down. Promote the website address with a big banner and folk can then login the next day and pay to download a more professional shot.

Natalia

Nice bunch of ideas Keif! The on-slope thing is something I’ve come across several places, but not as cleverly done as you suggest. I have a friend who used to do it, in the paper print days, for big travel companies in the alps. Also, it transfers nicely to the surf-world, where there’s an equal need for quality photography.

Aye, a few photographers have definitely been spotted alright, but it doesn’t seem very prolific or slick. Guessing the issue is getting official permission to solicit business which might be prohibitively expensive?